Phillies Recap: Astros-7, Phillies-0

Game Recap:
Cliff Lee only lasted three innings as the Phillies were shut out for the second time in three games.

What went right?

Carlos Ruiz was 3-4.

I've got nothing else.

What went wrong?

Cliff Lee only pitched three innings, allowing six runs on nine hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.

The Phillies left nine men on base.

I'm not going to break down every last member of the lineup that sucked last night, but it was most of them.

Game Analysis:

Where the hell has the offense gone for the Phillies? In their last ten games, the Phils have scored just 21 runs, and have gone 5-5. While the fact that they've won five of their last ten games with just 21 runs is impressive, the fact of the matter is that their offense has hit a serious funk, and they're going to need to break out of it if they want to go deep into the playoffs once again.

Couple the poor offense with another bad start by Cliff Lee, and you've got yourself one bad game to watch if you're a Phillies fan. Nothing went right last night, as Lee was roughed up for four runs in the second inning, two of which came on a double by the opposing pitcher, and he just never seemed to get into a groove. It didn't look like he was hitting his spots again, and though he's been roughed up in two straight starts, I'm not worried yet. He had a stretch like this earlier this year with the Indians, and look how well he came out of that. If this keeps up for a few more starts, with the playoffs looming, I might get a little more nervous, but for now, I'm more worried about the offense.

The Phillies have got to get out of this hole on offense. Raul Ibanez has got to start hitting again, and Shane Victorino has got to be more patient at the plate. Those two have been the main culprits during this funk, and I'm going to be looking towards them to get the Phillies back to where their offense was about a month ago. It has to happen.

Tonight, Joe Blanton (9-6, 3.77 ERA) goes for his tenth win of the season against a guy that's owned the Phils recently in Roy Oswalt (8-5, 3.80 ERA). Hopefully, the Phillies can snap out of this nasty groove their in and take it to Oswalt tonight.